What is the Qiblah of Muslims?
ما هي القبلة؟
The Qibla is the direction that Muslims turn to when they pray and that is in the direction of the Ka’aba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
(So turn your face toward al-Masjid al-Haram. And wherever you [believers] are, turn your faces toward it [in prayer].)
[Surah Al-Baqarah 2: 144]
Scholarly Insight: Historically, the first Qiblah for Muslims was Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. However, during the second year after the Hijrah (Migration to Medina), Allah commanded Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to change the direction to the Ka'aba. Facing the Qiblah is a mandatory condition (Shart) for the validity of the prayer, except in cases of extreme fear or when traveling on a vehicle where the direction cannot be maintained.